On June 22 we warned that certain streets in Brooklyn Heights were to be milled, and then repaved, during the following week. The milling got done, but the repaving is taking longer. So far, Poplar, Schermerhorn, and Willow streets, as well as Monroe Place, have been repaved. The Brooklyn Heights Association has notified us that the remaining unpaved streets will, weather permitting, be repaved this coming week. The schedule is:

Monday, July 16: Middagh Street (photo).

Tuesday, July 17: College Place, Love Lane, and Remsen Street.

Vehicles left on these streets when work is ready to be performed will be relocated, generally within three blocks. DOT encourages owners of relocated vehicles to first walk around the neighborhood. If owners are not able to locate their vehicle, they may telephone their local precinct, 84 (718) 875-6811 to learn where it was towed to.

Schermerhorn Street from Clinton to Court Street: Thursday, June 28 and Friday, June 29.

CB 2 provides this advice:

Vehicles left on these streets when work is ready to be performed will be relocated, generally within three blocks. DOT encourages owners of relocated vehicles to first walk around the neighborhood. If owners are not able to locate their vehicle, they may telephone their local precinct, 84 (718) 875-6811 or 88 (718) 636-6511 to learn where it was towed to.

1. The featured speaker, DOT Deputy Commissioner Robert Collyer (photo) said at least twice that a primary DOT concern is keeping traffic off Brooklyn Heights streets during the BQE renovation.

2. Mr. Collyer said that DOT is considering creating alternate routes for traffic during the BQE project that wouldn’t affect the Heights or other residential areas.

3. One of the objectives of the BQE project, according to Collyer, is to “improve [vertical] clearances” on the highway. Some residents asked if this would necessitate raising the BQE roadways, thereby affecting the Promenade. Mr. Collyer said it would not, and that the preservation of the Promenade was of vital concern.

4. When asked about the proposal to create an entrance to Brooklyn Bridge Park from Montague Street, the BHA took no position for or against. Mr. Collyer also remained neutral, but noted the long drop from Montague to the level of the Park and that any entrance/exit would have to comply with the Americans with Disabilities Act.

5. The BHA is considering options following the court decision allowing construction to proceed on the two high rise residential towers near Pier Six in Brooklyn Bridge Park, including a possible appeal.

Last June we noted here that a procedure called “design/build”, in which the same contractors bid on both the design and construction aspects of a project, could greatly shorten the time necessary to do the vital reconstruction and repair work on the cantilevered portion of the Brooklyn-Queens Expressway, beneath Brooklyn Heights and the Promenade. In December we observed that, without design/build, the project could be delayed beyond a point at which it would be necessary to divert trucks from this stretch of the highway onto Brooklyn Heights streets.

The Brooklyn Heights Association has been very active in the effort to get design/build approved. Last Friday morning there was a demonstration (photo) sponsored by State Senator Brian Flanagan and Assemblywoman Jo Anne Simon, held at the Montague Street entrance to the Promenade. Design/build will also be the principal topic of the BHA’s Annual Meeting, to be held on Wednesday, February 28 at Founders Hall, St. Francis College, 180 Remsen Street, from 7:00 to 9:00 PM. Finally, the BHA has chartered a bus to take concerned residents to Albany on Tuesday, March 6, to meet with legislators whose approval is crucial to the project. Seats are limited, so you should register here as soon as possble, or call 718-858-9193. Although the BHA’s maim page on the BQE reconstruction says there is no charge for the event, the registration page linked above requires a $30 “event fee.” Perhaps this can be avoided by using the phone option.

]]>http://brooklynheightsblog.com/archives/85664/feed0NYC Schools Open Tomorrow; Alternate Side Rules Suspended Through Saturdayhttp://brooklynheightsblog.com/archives/85513 http://brooklynheightsblog.com/archives/85513#commentsFri, 05 Jan 2018 02:30:22 +0000http://brooklynheightsblog.com/?p=85513Update: Alternate side rules are now suspended through Wednesday, January 10. New York City public schools are open tomorrow (Friday, January 4), including for all scheduled after-school activities. Packer, Brooklyn Friends, and Brooklyn Heights Montessori remain on regular Winter Break. We suspect St. Ann’s does, too, but they’ve yet to update their January calendar. Having heard nothing further, we presume Brooklyn Public Library branches will be open. Alternate side parking rules remain suspended through Saturday, January 6. ]]>http://brooklynheightsblog.com/archives/85513/feed1Park Entrance from Montague?http://brooklynheightsblog.com/archives/85232 http://brooklynheightsblog.com/archives/85232#commentsThu, 16 Nov 2017 22:02:44 +0000http://brooklynheightsblog.com/?p=85232

The Eagle reports that the Montague Street Business Improvement District wants a footbridge to connect the Promenade near the foot of Montague Street (photo) to Brooklyn Bridge Park. The BID says this is necessary to provide access to the Park during the time the needed repairs to the cantilevered portion of the Brooklyn-Queens Expressway below the Promenade are being done, as this will affect access to the Park through other entrances. According to the Eagle story, the BID envisions the footbridge as resembling the “Penny Bridge” (see photo in the story linked above) that used to allow pedestrians to cross Montague Street, when it extended steeply downhill to the level of the then docks, before the construction of the BQE and the Promenade.

What puzzles your correspondent is how a footbridge, by itself, could allow pedestrians to get to or from the Park from the level of the Promenade, which I believe is about an eighty foot vertical distance. Nothing that looks at all like the little Penny Bridge could do this. The bridge would have to connect to a very long staircase (more steps than many people could easily manage), or escalator (prone to breakdowns), or — and this is the only way it could meet the requirements of the Americans with Disabilities Act — a tower with elevators. To meet the anticipated summer traffic volume, this would probably require two or even three elevators the size of those at the Clark Street subway station, and the tower could impinge on the protected view plane from the Promenade. The footbridge that does connect to the Park — the “Bouncy Bridge”– does so by starting from Squibb Park, which is below the level of the BQE, and executing a zig-zag. A footbridge from the level of the Promenade would have to go through several zig-zags between there and the Park to be easily walkable; it’s hard to see how this could be executed without creating a structure so massive that it would negatively affect views from the Promenade.

I also wonder what significant impediment to Park access will be caused by the BQE repair work. Neither the Squibb Park, or Old Fulton/Furman Street entrances could be affected by it, and it seems unlikely to me to affect the Atlantic Avenue entrance, as it is south of where the cantilevered portion of the BQE begins. The Joralemon Street entrance could be affected, at least for a period of time less than required to complete the entire project. This is likely also to bar auto traffic on Joralemon from going to or from Furman Street during that time.

DISCLOSURE: I live on Montague. The concerns I’ve expressed above relate only to the technical difficulties I perceive with the proposal; not from fear of excessive pedestrian traffic on Montague (my windows face Pierrepont Place, so we already get the mostly cheerful noise from the playground, and the tour guide who stops his group in front of 3 Pierrepont Place to enlighten them about Seth Low, and at whom my historian wife occasionally yells at out the window, “No, Robert Moses did NOT build that playground!”).

The cantilevered portion of the Brooklyn-Queens Expressway, below Brooklyn Heights and the Promenade, is in need of critical repairs. Concrete has eroded, exposing rusting metal reinforcements. The job will take years, and will require closure of at least parts of the BQE for long periods. Last year a City Department of Transportation Official told a community meeting that the work could be done without diverting significant amounts of traffic to Brooklyn Heights streets. Still, there may be other disruptions, including closing of portions of the Promenade.

The duration of the project could be shortened, and its onset brought forward, by a technique called “Design/Build” in which joint bids are solicited from designers and construction firms, who must collaborate on their bids and, if successful, proceed on agreed upon terms. When design and construction bids are made and awarded separately, it often results in misunderstandings between designer and builder or repairer, leading to delays and sometimes litigation. Since the BQE repair is under New York State jurisdiction, approval to use Design/Build must come from the State.

Unfortunately, the State Legislature adjourned without approving Design/Build for the BQE. As State Senator Daniel Squadron noted in his newsletter: “The budget failed to allow design-build for the BQE reconstruction, a failure that could add years to this difficult project.”

Despite the failure to get the bill passed during the recent session, the BHA will continue to prominently advocate for this legislation when the legislature reconvenes. The stakes are too high for Brooklyn Heights and the entire borough to not press our case. NYCDOT estimates that design build will shorten the projected 5 year construction period of the BQE Rehabilitation Project, thereby reducing the duration of environmental impacts on the Heights community, and save city taxpayers $113.4 million. These savings can then be used on other critical infrastructure projects in New York City to further improve the quality of our lives.

We have word from Community Board 2 that Furman Street between Old Fulton Street and Joralemon Street will be milled this coming Friday, June 30. According to CB 2:

Due to daytime traffic volume, this work is planned to take place OVERNIGHT. Yes, this is an annoyance but one that is deemed necessary. Thank you for your forbearance.

Furman Street lies below Brooklyn Heights and the cantilevered portion of the BQE, which it parallels for much of its length. Noise from the milling is likely to be audible in the Heights, especially between Hicks Street and the Promenade.

On Tuesday evening, May 2, at 6:30 there will be a very timely discussion, “Bringing Truth Back: Reporting Facts in a Post-Truth Era.” It will feature a panel of distinguished political journalists, and will be moderated by Sopan Deb, “a culture reporter for The New York Times, writing about the intersection of politics and culture, among other topics.” Admission is $10, or $5 for BHS members; more information and purchase tickets here.

A book titled City of Dreams: Dodger Stadium and the Birth of Modern Los Angeles may seem to be an odd basis for a reading and discussion likely to appeal to Brooklyn baseball fans, especially on the sixtieth anniversary of the Dodgers’ departure. The book’s author, Jerald Podair, will be at BHS Wednesday evening, May 3 at 6:30, to read from and discuss his book. In it, he “challenges the narrative that owner Walter O’Malley happily abandoned Brooklyn and moved west,” and finds a villain familiar to Brooklyn Heights residents: Robert Moses. Admission is $5, or free for members; more information and purchase or reserve tickets here.

DNA Info’s Alexandra Leon reports that about ten to twelve street-facing security cameras will be placed on residential buildings on Joralemon Street between Clinton and Furman streets this spring. This is in response to residents’ complaints about an increase in crime because of Joralemon’s becoming the principal entrance to Brooklyn Bridge Park. The DNA Info story quotes Brooklyn Heights Association Executive Director Peter Bray as saying the cameras will be placed on the buildings of residents who volunteer to have them there and agree to make footage available to the NYPD as needed. Mr. Bray also said this constitutes a expansion of Borough President Eric Adams’s “Safe Shoppers” program, originally targeted only on commercial areas.

As of Friday afternoon, March 3, there was still a large hole in Montague Street between Clinton and Henry streets, and so no vehicle traffic on that block. Based on your correspondent’s eyeball survey, most businesses on that block were open. The only exceptions were the Nanatori and Lichee Nut restaurants, which may have suffered food spoilage because of power outage and, in the case of Lichee Nut, flooding. As we previously reported, service was restored on the R/N subway line serving Court Street station some hours after the water main break.

Update: According to the MTA website, service has been restored on the R/N line at Court Street. A water main break below Montague Street between Clinton and Henry streets late today flooded several ground floor level businesses and the Court Street subway station, served by the R and (late night) N trains. It caused interruption of water service along the affected block of Montague Street, and its closure to traffic.. This is a developing story; we will update as more information concerning restoration of water and subway service and the affected businesses becomes available.

Readers of our “Subway Service Alerts” know that repair work to tunnels damaged by Hurricane Sandy has been a lengthy process, and that repairs to the tunnels that connect the 4/5, or “Lex” line, to Brooklyn and Manhattan have been very active of late. We’ve been advised by the Brooklyn Heights Association that work on the portion of the 4/5 tunnel that lies below Joralemon Street will necessitate parking restrictions on parts of Joralemon Street and Willow Place after Thanksgiving and into December on weekdays, with more to come in January and perhaps in March to April:

NYCTA officials have alerted the BHA to their plans to undertake 3 weeks of repair on the Joralemon Street Tunnel from Monday, November 28th to Friday, December 16, 2016 during Mondays through Fridays. During this period, the NYCTA will be pulling new electrical cable between their substation on Willow Place and their ventilation building on Joralemon Street.

The work will eliminate parking during the 3 weeks, M-F between 7 AM and 7 PM, on both sides of the two streets on Joralemon between 45 Joralemon and Hicks Street and on Willow Place between Nos. 16 & 18 through 44 Willow Place. Cars parked during these periods will be towed. Parking will be permitted overnight between 7 PM and 7 AM. No Parking notices will be posted starting Monday November 21st.

The two streets will remain open to traffic, aided by a flagman, during the work periods. No openings will be made in the roadway surface and access will be maintained to all driveways.

The repair work is expected to continue for one week in January and perhaps one or two weeks in March/April 2017.

The Brooklyn Paper reports that City Department of Transportation project manager Tanvi Pandya told local residents at Monday evening’s community meeting on BQE reconstruction that testing by DOT shows that the cantilevered stretch of the highway that parallels Brooklyn Heights and sits partially below the Promenade can last another ten years before repairs would demand the BQE’s complete closure over that portion in order to do vital repairs. The Brooklyn Paper story quotes Bob Collyer, Deputy Commissioner of Bridges for the City, as saying there is no plan to completely close the BQE or Furman Street during the repairs, which would cause diversion of traffic to local streets. Instead, he said, three lanes of the highway would be kept open at all times.

The repairs are scheduled to start in 2024 and end in 2029, unless Albany, the millstone around New York City’s neck, approves the use of the same contractor for design and construction, in which case it could start in 2021 and be done by 2026.

The Brooklyn Heights Association notifies us that, next Tuesday evening, November 1, from 6:00 to 8:00, at the NYU Poly Tandon Auditorium on the ground floor of 5 MetroTech Center, the City Department of Transportation will hold a public information session on the planned rehabilitation of the Brooklyn-Queens Expressway, particularly the cantilevered portion that runs beneath the Brooklyn Heights Promenade and the foot of Grace Court.

The project is slated to begin construction in the early 2020s, but project design and its environmental analysis will be initiated soon. DOT will present an update and provide the public with an opportunity to ask questions.

Of particular concern to Heights residents will be the effect of the work on houses near the Promenade as well as the Promenade itself, and the increased traffic likely to to result from closure of the BQE, with Hicks, Henry, and Clinton streets all likely to bear the brunt of traffic diversion.

The 45th annual Cranberry Street Fair will take place on Cranberry between Hicks and Willow streets this Saturday, October 1 from 11:00 a.m. until 3:00 p.m. As the Eagle reports, there will be live jazz, belly dancing, a bakeoff, fortune tellers, and many things, from books to tchatchkes, for sale. Free coffee and tea, to go with the baked treats you buy (all of which must contain cranberries) will be provided by Jim Monte and Cranberry’s. There will be a pet parade, and all pets will get prizes from Rocco & Jezebel. All proceeds of sales go to Cranberry Street beautification.

On Sunday, September 18th Montague street between Court and Hicks will close to traffic from 12-5pm for the The Montague Street Business Improvement District (BID)’s Make It Montague block party. The event promises larger than life games of Connect 4, Jenga and Cornhole, jugglers and vintage cars along with live entertainment, DJs, activities, giveaways, gifts with purchase, demos, complimentary food, drink, and ice cream. PS8 will also have a welcome back to school and informational table. The event is free and open to the public. Check the Montague Street BID website for a complete list of scheduled activities and participating vendors.

This year’s event also marks the launch of a new initiative, Montague Matters a month-long kindness campaign. The goal: to collect backpacks, lunch boxes, and school supplies for children in need throughout District 13. The program will run from September 18th through October 18th. Items can be placed in drop boxes located at local businesses.

In the event press release, District 13 Family Advocate Precious Jones-Walker shared, “District 13 has a diverse community of families – they come from townhouses, public housing and some live in shelters. A backpack, lunch box, small calculator and other basic school supplies can help ensure that more of our kids succeed in school this year.”

during which our volunteers found that many of the Heights’ street trees suffer from overcrowded tree roots and tree pits too small to provide the tree with adequate nutrients and water.

In response, “the BHA is launching a project to enlarge sub-standard tree pits in cooperation with committed owners.” To participate in the project, owners must be BHA members; join here. In addition, they must meet the following requirements:

• Have a tree pit smaller than 25 square feet (approx. 5 x 5 ft.) • Have a sidewalk that is entirely concrete • Provide owner’s consent to the BHA

The BHA will then:

• Ensure that each location meets Parks Department guidelines • Meet with the tree owner to review the project • Contribute up to 50% of each project’s estimated $500-$600 cost • Find licensed tree contractors to perform the work • Ensure proper insurance coverage and obtain all necessary permits • Coordinate with the contractor and City agencies

Note that:

The BHA reserves the right to select all qualifying locations. Preference will be given to blocks with multiple tree pit enlargement applications, so if you are an interested owner, encourage your neighbors to apply as well. We hope to complete this work by the spring of 2017.

If you’re interested, or want more information, please call the BHA at 718-818-9153 or e-mail to info@thebha.org

Senator Squadron’s office kindly forwarded an email alert from Community Board 2 regarding upcoming repairs and resurfacing of the BQE between Tillary and Atlantic Avenues.

QUEENS BOUND JULY 19th – 23rd:

“The work will begin with milling in the Queens-bound direction in the early-morning hours on Tuesday, July 19. On Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday morning, DOT will repair the concrete base of the roadway, followed by repaving on Saturday morning, July 23. During this work, one lane will remain open at all times, but the roadway surface will be rough.”

The first lane will close at 12:01 am and the second lane at 1:00 am. Both will re-open by 5:00 am.

STATEN ISLAND BOUND JULY 25th – 30th:

“On the Staten Island-bound roadway, milling will take place on Sunday morning, July 24, followed by concrete base repairs from Monday through Saturday, and repaving on Sunday morning, July 31.” The first lane will close at 12:01 am and the second lane at 1:00 am. Both will re-open by 5:00 am.

“The BQE will be FULLY CLOSED from Tillary Street to Atlantic Avenue on Sunday, July 24, and Sunday, July 31, from 1:00 am to 6:00 am for the milling and paving…On the intervening nights, while concrete base repairs are underway, one lane will remain open at all times, but the roadway surface will be rough.”

CLICK HEREfor full details including a map to help you navigate around the mishegas.

At Tuesday evening’s 84th Precinct Community Council Meeting, as expected, Deputy Inspector Sergio Centa (photo), the Precinct Commanding Officer, faced many questions about security in Brooklyn Bridge Park and on Brooklyn Heights streets, especially Joralemon, used by pedestrians going to and from the Park. He noted that his requests for additional officers to be assigned to the precinct had been successful, with twelve new officers assigned recently and twelve more coming. He attributed this principally to the explosive population growth in Downtown Brooklyn, with many new high rise apartment buildings completed and many more under construction or planned. Crime in the precinct has, he said, remained low. There have been several burglaries lately, in areas outside Brooklyn Heights. In each case the burglar entered through an unlocked door or window, and he urged people to keep these secured. He said the only type of crime that has increased steadily is fraud, principally through identity theft involving bank or credit cards.

D.I. Centa said there is a substantial police presence in Brooklyn Bridge Park this summer. His “summer detail request” was met; as a consequence there will be 24 officers in the Park, with overtime on weekends. On Sundays, when there are often as many as 65,000 visitors in the Park, there will be thirty to forty officers present. The officers will be mobile, with bikes, scooters, and Smart Cars. Deployment will be concentrated on Pier 2.

Regarding Pier 2, D.I. Centa said he had taken the initiative to clear it before it became crowded on two occasions, because of indications that fighting was planned there. Asked how he obtained this intelligence, he said that he “didn’t want to give away trade secrets”, but allowed that one closure was caused by a Facebook posting. He said he is prepared to close the pier again under similar circumstances. He also kept Pier 2 closed for a day following closure because of a fight involving sticks and bottles, saying he was concerned that those involved might return to try to finish things off.

Asked if he was aware of what happens on Joralemon Street after pier closings, D.I. Centa said yes. He said police would regulate traffic at these times, and might divert some of it to Atlantic Avenue. Brooklyn Heights Association Executive Director Peter Bray said there had been incidents along Joralemon between Court and Furman streets, at times unrelated to pier closings, in which residents had been jostled and sometimes forced off sidewalks. He said the character of the affected blocks had been changed. Heights resident Jeffrey Smith described the situation as a “Heights-wide emergency”; Gothamist quotes him as having said, after the meeting, that he would get in his car, go Upstate, buy a couple of cases of shotguns, and hand them out.

Other issues affecting Brooklyn Heights were raised at the meeting. One resident complained of government tagged vehicles occupying “No Parking” spaces around Clinton and Joralemon streets. Another made an emotional plea to stop allowing people attending Sunday services at Our Lady of Lebanon Cathedral to park their cars on bike lanes, as this forces bike riders into traffic. D.I. Centa said this is a “courtesy” afforded to religious institutions throughout the city, and that he would not change it. The question of resident parking permits was raised, but it was pointed out that this is a State issue, not an NYPD one.

Those who wish to participate in the NYPD’s Operation ID, in which valuable portable electronic devices are registered and may be engraved with an identification number, were asked to call Officer Diana Torres at 929-371-4503.

Thanks to this correspondent’s penchant for late night surfing, The Blog has just learned of this Sunday’s TD 5 Boro Bike Tour. Now in its 39th year, the ride consists of “32,000 cyclists of all skill levels [who] come from around the world to roll through every borough of New York City on streets totally free of cars.”

Your curious reporter called the 84th Precinct around midnight to inquire about how both Manhattan and Brooklyn Bridge traffic would be directed. The officer had no information but offered that teams were “going out now” to place notices. But, as of press time, exactly zero “no parking” signs or barricades were visible on Cadman Plaza West.

Moral of the story: If if you have any plans to travel on Sunday-take the train. And, be sure to refer to Claude’s handy dandy Subway Service Alerts.

Rocco Parascandola and Thomas Tracy in today’s Daily News, report that a 14 year old boy who had earlier been involved in ” a brutal attack on another teen while riding a Brooklyn bus” was, on Monday charged with illegal weapons possession for trying to bring a pistol into school (the chronology of the Daily News story is a bit confusing; it says the bus incident was on September 3 and the pistol incident on “Monday”–presumably October 5 as the story is datelined October 10–but also says the two incidents happened “on the same week”). The story then says the boy “brought the handgun to MS 8 on Johnson St. in Brooklyn Heights.”

Well, is Johnson Street “in Brooklyn Heights”? In the words of James Thurber and, perhaps, Casey Stengel, “You could look it up.” I did (although, having lived in the Heights for 32 years, I was sure of the answer), and the result is on the map you see with this post. Johnson Street does not enter Brooklyn Heights; it is entirely, as the map indicates, in Downtown Brooklyn.

As the Eagle reports (and as readers JoraleMan and RJG remind us, the City’s Department of Transportation is beginning to implement the “slow zone” for Brooklyn Heights that we reported in 2013 would be in place by next year. The map shows the locations of the “20 MPH Slow Zone” signs and speed bumps to be installed. The DOT has provided a detailed plan, with illustrations.

Street cleaning rules are suspended today and tomorrow for Shemini Atzereth and Simchas Torah respectively, but that doesn’t mean you won’t have to move your car, as huge swaths of the Heights are hit with “no parking” signs.

Between street work and the filming of Blindspot, the dreaded signs are up on most of Henry, Hicks, and Columbia Heights north of Montague, along with some of the east-west streets as well.

Street work has already begun on Hicks near Clark, with a lot of car owners apparently not having gotten the message, as vehicles line the west side of the street.

Streets affected by the Blindspot shoot should have their cars moved by Tuesday evening, according to the signs.

Seems more than a little odd that such work, especially on such a massive scale, is approved during religion observances.

I’ll confess to having felt a bit curious when it was announced last Friday that various streets in and around Brooklyn Heights, including my home street, Montague, were to be paved the following Monday (last night) and Tuesday nights. After all, the affected streets had not yet been milled; a necessary prelude to repaving. Indeed, through last night my wife and I often found our sleep disturbed by sounds consistent with pavement milling, as did many other Montague residents, as reported in this Eagle story. This morning I found Montague milled, but not repaved. As for the other streets supposedly slated for repaving–Remsen between Court and Clinton, Joralemon between Fulton and Clinton, and Court between Joralemon and Atlantic Avenue–they were all undisturbed.

Stay tuned for better information, as soon as we have it, on the progress of street work in the neighborhood.

We’ve received word from Community Board 2 that overnight (no start or finish times are given) street paving will take place this coming Monday and Tuesday, August 17 and 18, on the following schedule:

[v]ehicles left on these streets when work is ready to be performed will be relocated, generally within three blocks. DOT encourages owners of relocated vehicles to first walk around the neighborhood. If owners are not able to locate their vehicle, they may telephone (646) 892-1370 to learn where it was towed to.

Community Board 2 has advised us that on Wednesday, August 5 paving will be done on Columbia Heights between Cranberry and Pierrepont streets, and on Pineapple Street between Columbia Heights and Henry Street. On Thursday, August 6, paving on Columbia Heights between Cranberry and Pierrepont will continue, and paving on Joralemon Street between Clinton and Hicks streets will be done.

The paving is to be done during the daytime. The City DOT advises that

[v]ehicles left on these streets when work is ready to be performed will be relocated, generally within three blocks. DOT encourages owners of relocated vehicles to first walk around the neighborhood. If owners are not able to locate their vehicle, they may telephone (646) 892-1370 to learn where it was towed to.

]]>http://brooklynheightsblog.com/archives/75841/feed6Charming Brooklyn Heights Featured in The New York Timeshttp://brooklynheightsblog.com/archives/75640 http://brooklynheightsblog.com/archives/75640#commentsThu, 23 Jul 2015 17:37:48 +0000http://brooklynheightsblog.com/?p=75640

The New York Times featured Brooklyn Heights in their Real Estate section’s July 22nd installment of “Living In,” a blog that offers “the inside scoop on New York City neighborhoods and beyond.”

The post outlines the neighborhood borders and diverse architecture, real estate pricing, schools, restaurants and shops and a brief history. Reporter, Alison Gregor spoke with Jacob Blickenstaff, a photographer who recently purchased a one- bedroom in Brooklyn Heights with his girlfriend after a two-year search. Blickenstaff described Brooklyn Heights as “beautiful and peaceful…with an incredible mix of history and architecture that’s unique.”

Gregor also spoke with Judy Stanton, Executive Director of the Brooklyn Heights Association who is “delighted to still be here and watch [a] new generation grow up.” Gregory Williamson, an agent for Douglas Elliman offered that home prices have risen 15 to 20 percent in the last year and a half to two years.

It also cites how Brooklyn Bridge Park has attracted more visitors to the neighborhood and name checks Save Pier 6 and People for Greenspace Foundation’s opposition to development within the park.